The Puckelberry Chronicles
by me11
Summary: Snapshots of our favourite Gleeks on the road to Regionals.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Hello gentle readers! This is a short series that I'm working on during the Glee extended break. I am OFFICIALLY a Puckelberry fan, so you have been warned. This will not feature my traditional epic-length chapters, for the sole reason that they are just too darn hard to keep up when I'm in school. But I can churn out these short guys fairly easily, so I think that's probably better. Like most Glee fics this will feature songs, however not in every chapter. It's also my first Glee fic, so I'm trying to get a feel for the voice...it's a work in progress :0)  
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_For this song Puck in in italics and Rachel is in _**bold**_ :) The song is "Wish You Were Here" by Incubus  
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_Disclaimer: No, of course I don't own any whole or part of Glee. If I did I would be writing this stuff for money, and not just when I'm supposed to be working!_

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He usually liked it when people stared at him. They were usually admiring. He didn't usually feel nervous. Of course, he didn't usually have solos either.

_I dig my toes into the sand_

_The ocean looks like a thousand diamonds_

_Strewn across a blue blanket_

Honestly, he was nervous as he sang, centre stage.

_I lean against the wind_

He spread his arms wide and the other eleven members of New Directions moved around him, like a cyclone. Dizzying.

_Pretend that I am weightless_

_And in that moment I am happy...happy_

The flurry of moving Gleeks parts, to reveal Puck standing still in the eye of the storm. Then she steps forward, their smoking gun of talent. Their hands reach to each other and the group sings the chorus together.

I wish you were here

I wish you were here

I wish you were here

I wish you were here

Rachel drops her hand away now, her fingers having never quite reached his. He falls back into the pack, weaving through the moving bodies, and she stands still, taking the lead.

**I lay my head onto the sand**

**The sky resembles a back lit canopy**

**With holes punched in it**

**I'm counting UFOs**

**I signal them with my lighter**

**And in this moment I am happy...happy**

The flurry starts again, swirling around her as her voice rings out, clear and strong, filling the room with her melody. They all stop, Puck by her side again, in the middle of the group. They all join hands, standing in pairs.

I wish you were here

I wish you were here

I wish you were here

I wish you were here

The chorus ends and the couples all spin away. Puck and Rachel turn to each other as the others begin to move again, weaving around them.

_The world's a roller coster_

**And I am not strapped in**

_Maybe I should hold with care_

**but my hands are busy in the air saying...**

_I wish you were here_

**I wish you were here**

The group stills again.

I wish you were here

I wish you were here

I wish you were here

I wish you were...here

They finish the song with another flurry of movement, once again around Puck and Rachel. He pulls her close and braces her hands on his shoulders. The others stop and join hands again.

_**I wish you were here.**_

"Great job!" Mr. Shuester clapped with an enthusiastic smile. The members smiled too--well, Rachel beamed, moving her hands away slowly. Shue clapped him on the shoulder encouragingly, and Puck grinned. Teachers rarely congratulated him on anything, let alone praised him.

Artie gave him a high (well, low) five and the others started to talk amongst themselves. Mr. Shue lowered his voice a bit and addressed his former boy band mate. "You're hitting everything right but you need a bit of work holding some of the longer notes," he began, and Puck felt his hopes drop. "You're dropping them too soon, particularly during the last verse."

Puck nodded and swallowed thickly. He should have known.

"But I know you can nail it with a bit of extra practice," Shue finished, surprising him. "Rachel?"

"Yes, Mr. Shuester?" she hurried over, looking like an eager to please puppy (albeit a really cute one).

"I would like you and Puck to work on _Wish You Were Here_ as much as you can, okay?" he told them both. "I'm putting it on the set list for Regionals and so it has to be perfect."

Rachel nodded eagerly but Puck raised his eyebrows in surprise. "At Regionals? But Mr. Shue you always give the solos to Finn or Artie," he pointed out.

"This is your song," Shue promised him, squeezing his shoulder. "I know you can do this. Both of you," he added, looking at Rachel. She beamed at the praise, and Puck had to smile (smirk!) at that. He nodded at Shue, who moved on to talk to Tina.

Rachel turned her beaming smile to Puck now. "We have to set up a practice schedule Noah. Let's start Saturday and then we--"

"Calm down Berry," he sighed, running a hand over his mohawk. She was almost vibrating with excitement. "Are--are you okay?"

"I'm excited!"

"I can see that."

"This is your first solo Noah," she pointed out unnecessarily. "Except for..."

"Yeah..."

"...and we need it to be _perfect_ for Regionals so--"

"So I don't screw it up you mean?" he cut her off bitterly.

"No," she shook her head, eyes wide. "I was going to say: so we can beat Vocal Adrenaline. Their dancing _is_ exemplary but we have by far the superior singers."

"Maybe we should have Finn do it," Puck was pained to admit it. Rachel frowned. "He's our best singer...for the guys anyway."

"Finn has a natural ability," Rachel admitted. "But he's not _better_ than you Noah. You just need to practice--"

"Look, Berry--"

"No," she cut him off, putting a hand on his forearm seriously. "Mr. Sheuster wants you and me to do this. He believes in us and I'm not going to disappoint him just because you and Finn have unresolved issues at the moment. Now, Saturday morning?"

He sighed. "Whatever."

"Good," she nodded, satisfied. "Be at my place at ten am." He sighed heavily and she slid her hand down to meet his, squeezing gently. "You're going to be great Noah, I _know_ it."

He held her gaze, the air around him feeling warmer all of a sudden.

"Okay guys!" Mr. Shue's voice startled them to attention and Rachel's hand dropped away quickly. "Let's run through _Don't Stop Believing_ before we go!"

They moved into formation.

TBC...


	2. Chapter 2

Finn Hudson was not liking the fact that Puck was singing lead with Rachel--that much was clear to everyone. Even their often oblivious teacher.

It wasn't that Finn couldn't share of course, it was that he didn't want to share with _him_. The man that broke his whole world apart.

His ex-best friend had slept with his girl friend--had lied to him for months and let him believe that he was going to have a daughter. It was just so...wrong!

He didn't think that Puck deserved a solo, not after what he'd done.

"That's absurd," Rachel told him shortly, after he'd finally voiced his opinions out loud. She closed her locker and pointedly ignored his whine of protest.

"How can you take his side Rachel?" Finn demanded.

"I'm not taking anyone's side Finn," she told him. That stung actually--she should be taking _his_ side. After all, Puck hadn't revealed the truth to Rachel when they'd been dating.

"You should..." he muttered, walking with her towards math class. At least Puck wouldn't show up there too--he hadn't attended a math class for almost two years.

"Finn, if Quinn was given a solo would you say that she shouldn't get it?" Rachel asked him curiously.

He paused. Considered that. "No," he replied finally, though he didn't really know why he thought it.

"Why not?" Rachel asked him. "She hurt you too. What she did was just as bad as what Noah did." He didn't answer. She just didn't get it; she couldn't. Quinn was a good person, he knew that deep down. Puck on the other hand...

Finn had warned his (ex!) friend about hooking up with his mom (Puck did that kind of thing after all!), but he never thought to do the same for is girl. It _should_ have gone without saying.

"Finn," Rachel stopped and looked up at him (like _way_ up, because she was pretty short). "I know that they hurt you--"

"Everyone hurt me Rachel!" he cried, making her jump a little in surprise. "Everyone in Glee knew and no one said anything! Everyone...except you."

"Well to be fair, I don't know that Matt and Mike were aware--"

"Rachel," he placed his (enormous) hands on her shoulders seriously.

"Finn," she returned cheekily.

He sighed deeply. "How am I supposed to even look at him--at them? I see her and I all I think about is Drizzle--"

"Drizzle?"

"--the thought of _him_ getting to keep her when I can't...he can't win this!"

"What?!" a sharp, familiar voice interrupted from behind Finn.

He and Rachel spun around. Puck was charging over--and he looked livid. "You think this is about winning? That it's some kind of fucking game?" he looked like he wanted to reach out and touch someone--namely Finn's face, with his fists.

Rachel quietly slipped between them, pushing Noah back gently. Surprisingly he let her, because he was so focused on Finn.

"This _isn't_ a fucking competition between us Finn," Puck's voice was shaky--upset and pissed. "This is out lives! Mine, yours, the baby's and Quinn's! And none of us get to _keep_ her, no one gets to win here! You need to grow the fuck up!"

"_I_ need to grow up? You're the one who slept with _my_ girlfriend," Finn yelled, causing Rachel to flinch again. "You get to be all high and mighty now? You'll sleep with anything--it's ALL a game to you! I can't believe I ever trusted you--you know you've ruined her life, right? Quinn's and the baby's. You ruin everything you touch--"

"Finn!" Rachel looked disgusted with him. But the look on Puck's face, the stony acceptance, was what made Finn feel the worst. Because he _knew_ Puck's demons, knew his darkest thoughts about himself. They'd been best friends for ten years, and Finn knew that he'd been the only one to _not_ think that about Puck. Before...

"I'm sorry I slept with your girlfriend," Puck told him icily. "I--"

"You're sorry?!" Finn interrupted with a scoff, but his shame from just a moment ago took away most of the anger there.

"I'm sorry I slept with your girlfriend while you were running around trying to seduce Berry," Puck added, a little maliciously. "I really am dude. But I'm also really, really tired of you pretending that you've done nothing wrong here. I shouldn't have hooked up with her, but you shouldn't have cheated on her in the first place."

"I never--"

"You checked out of that relationship as soon as you joined Glee!" Puck reminded him. "You strung both of them along as you saw fit. I may be a womanizing asshole but I least I'm honest about it!"

Finn paused then and Rachel's hand dropped off of his chest. She avoided both of their gazes but she still tried, feebly, to hold Puck back. Finn knew that he was right; what he'd done with Rachel was wrong, because he'd never intended to leave Quinn. He just like the idea of...

"I shouldn't have slept with your girl," Puck muttered, running a hand over his head warily. "I don't blame you for hating me. I don't know how you want to make us even again."

"Even?" Finn scoffed, more sad than bitter, if he was honest. "How would I ever make this even? I can never hurt you like you hurt me. You don't love anything like I loved..." he couldn't finish that. He wanted to say "Quinn". He wanted to say the "baby". He wanted to say "you".

"That's...that's not true," Rachel said softly when neither boy spoke for a minute. She spoke to Finn but her eyes rested on Puck. That was the first time that Finn ever really noticed how sad his old friend looked under all of that anger and pride. He looked like his world had been destroyed too.

"I loved Quinn," Puck told him, meeting his eyes without a trace of bullshit. "I did. She was...everything that the best parts of me wanted at the time. And I _hated_ her for not letting me near the baby, for not letting me be a part of my daughter's life. For making me _watch_ while she gave her to _you_. I love you Finn, but nothing is going to keep me away from my baby. Not even you."

"I have two fathers," Rachel said softly, after a moment. They both looked at her in confusion. "Of course you know that but...I've always thought I was lucky. Little girls love their daddy's more than anyone in the world. And no matter who that baby ends up with she's going to be _so_ lucky because she'll always have a mother and two father's that love her so much that they'll fight over who gets a bigger piece of her."

They all stood like that for a few moments, staring at each other quietly. A stream of tears made their way down Rachel's cheek. Finally they all seemed to notice that the halls were now empty. A glance at the clock on the wall confirmed that class had started almost ten minutes ago.

Puck was the first to leave, gently easing Rachel's hand off of his chest where it was still resting to try and restrain him. He turned to leave.

"Bye Noah," Rachel called softly. Puck looked back at her, expressionless.

"Later Berry," he nodded. "Finn."

Finn sighed. "Bye."

TBC...


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: For this chapter, Finn sings in _**bold**_**, **__Puck in italics, Quinn is _underlined_, and everyone else is just _regular_ type. The song is "Over and Over Again" by Nelly, Feat. Tim McGraw. Now you know... :)  
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Rachel Berry loved being in the spotlight. She knew that she was meant to be a star, and so the spotlight was just a logical place for her to be.

But she also really, really hated seeing people that she cared about in so much pain. Finn was so angry lately...Noah walked around in a daze...and Quinn was always on the verge of tears. Despite their triumph at Sectionals, New Directions was on the verge of imploding.

Something needed to be done. But with Mr. Sheuster dealing with the bucket full of crazy that was his marriage he wasn't really in a position to do anything about it. So Rachel knew that it was time to step up.

She also knew that she'd need the cooperation of the rest of the group.

Mercedes especially had been eager to do something. She was feeling a lot of guilt for spreading Puck's secret to the rest of the group, and for keeping the truth from Finn. And for what she'd said to Puck...

With Mercedes on board the others followed easily enough: everyone wanted things civil again.

So they resolved to fix things the only way a glee club could: with a song.

"Mr. Sheuster?" Rachel's hand shot up immediately once he called the group to order.

"Yes Rachel?" he looked a little wary.

"Several of us have a song that we'd like to try out, if that's okay with you?" she told him, approaching quickly to show him the music that they'd arranged. He looked down at the song in interest. And then...he got it.

"Okay Rachel," Mr. Shue nodded, to the delight of most of the group. "Let's run through it."

Puck, Finn and Quinn looked confused...but then they didn't know what was coming. Mr. Sheuster started handing out sheet music. Rachel had never been more willing to sing back up in her entire life.

"What's this?" Quinn asked, the first words that she'd spoken in Glee for almost two weeks. Her voice almost sounded tired from lack of use.

"Let's just try running through it, shall we?"

Everyone moved into position, Noah trudging up last looking at Rachel suspiciously.

The band began to play and Finn began to sing, sounding as hurt as he had that day in the hallway with Rachel and Puck, and everyone else took up the chorus.

**Cause it's all in my head**

**I think about it over and over again**

**And I cant keep picturing you with him**

**And it hurts so bad**

Cause it's all in my head

I think about it over and over again

Quinn's lip quivered a bit, but when her turn came up her voice was strong. She was like a tragic heroine, Rachel though. Then she thought maybe she'd been reading too much Shakespeare.

I replay it over and over again

And I can't take it, I can't shake it no

_I can't wait to see you_

_Wanna see if you still got that look in your eye_

_That one you had for me before we said our goodbyes_

_And it's a shame that we gotta spend our time being mad about the same things_

(over and over again)

_about the same things _

(over and over again)

_Oohhh but I think she's leaving_

_Oohhh man she's leaving_

I don't know what else to do

**Can't go on not loving you**

_Cause it's all in my head_

I think about it over and over again

**And I can't keep picturing you with him**

And it hurts so bad

Cause it's all in my head

I think about it over and over again

I replay it over and over again

(yea)

**And I can't take it**,

(yea)

_I can't shake it no_

I remember the day you left

I remember the last breath you took right in front of me

When you said that you would leave

I was too damn stubborn to try to stop you or say anything

But I see clearly now

And this choice I made keeps playing in my head

(over and over again)

play in my head

(over and over again)

**Oohhh but I think she's leaving**

**Oohhh man she's leaving**

_I don't know what else to do_

I can't go on not loving you

**Cause it's all in my head**

**I think about it over and over again**

_And I can't keep picturing you with him_

_And it hurts so bad_

Cause it's all in my head

I think about it over and over again

I replay it over and over again

And I can't take it, I can't shake it no more

_Now that I realize that I'm goin' down _

**from all this pain you've put me through**

_Every time I close my eyes,_

**I like it down, oohhh,**

I can't go on not loving you!

Cause it's all in my head

I think about it over and over again

And I can't keep picturing you with him

And it hurts so bad

Cause it's all in my head

I think about it over and over again

I replay it over and over again

And I can't take it, I can't shake it

Cause it's all in my head

I think about it over and over again

**And I can't keep picturing you with him**

**And it hurts so bad**

_**Cause it's all in my head**_

_**I think about it over and over again**_

_I replay it over and over again_

_And I can't take it, I can't shake it no more_

Over and over again

Over and over again

Cause it's all in my head

They all paused at the end. Rachel could hear Noah's last verse ringing through her ears. There was no question that everyone in the room felt _it_ too.

"That was..." Mr. Sheuster looked like he might cry. "Extraordinary!" he finally declared, hurrying over to the three soloists and putting a comforting hand on Quinn's shoulder. She tried to smile up at him but it was evident that she was fighting back tears. "Why don't we take a ten minute break?" Mr. Shue proposed kindly.

Puck nodded and made his way to the door at a lightning fast speed. Rachel watched him go. Finn collapsed unceremoniously into a chair looking like he wanted to disappear. Brittany hurried over to Quinn and pulled her into the corner, letting her sob into the red and white sleeve of her uniform.

Rachel hesitated only for a moment before hurrying after Noah.

TBC...


	4. Chapter 4

"Noah, wait!" he didn't want to stop, he really didn't. But he did slow down a bit--he had to really, because she was short. And she just couldn't walk as fast as him.

The fact that he thought of that, that he cared enough to slow down, really spoke volumes. He chose to ignore that.

"What?" he snapped instead, once she reached his side.

"A-are you okay?"

"I'm fine," was his automatic reply. In his head he screamed 'hell, no' but he _was_ still a badass on the outside after all.

"Noah!" she didn't believe him, clearly. "Don't pretend that--"

"I'm fine Berry."

"No you're not," she stopped walking and shook her head at him sadly. He paused--he actually paused!--but refused to turn around to look at her. He could feel her gaze burning into his back, between his awesomely sculpted shoulders.

Then he felt her hand, soft and tentative, settle between his shoulder blades. He took a deep breath and--damn it!--actually felt a little...better. "Noah."

He did turn then, and was shocked to see that she was actually crying.

"What's wrong?" he blurted, before he immediately feet like a pussy for caring. She was just another one of the long string of girls he'd dated--nothing that special really. They were barely even friends.

"I'm sorry," she wiped the tears away and he felt distinctly uncomfortable. "For the song I mean. We sincerely thought it would make you feel...well, better, I suppose."

He hesitated. "I don't feel worse," he told her. She frowned.

"Then why did you _leave_?"

"I..." he didn't want to answer that. He left because, well, guys like him _did_ that. They left when it was tough, or uncomfortable, or hard to stay.

Then he felt sick, because hadn't he just spent the last six months convincing Quinn that he _wasn't_ that guy?

Rachel took pity on him. "Let's go back then," she said, a little bossily. He kind of liked it actually.

When they got back Quinn was crying in a corner. Brittany was trying to comfort her but it didn't seem to be working. The others looked worried but when they noticed him the looks turned to panic. Finn pointedly stared at his shoes.

'Doofus,' Puck thought disparagingly.

Finally, Puck squared his shoulders. If Finn didn't want to step up and help Quinn then he would do it, even if the girl didn't want him. Rachel nodded encouragingly at him and gave him a little push in Quinn's direction.

Puck had never been as nervous as he was in that moment--because Q's pregnancy hormones made her bat-shit crazy.

Brittany patted Quinn's shoulder sympathetically as he walked up, then hurried off as fast as her long legs (and _short_ skirt...nice!) could carry her. Quinn sniffled and--God damn it!--he still thought she was beautiful.

He shrugged and gave her his very best adorable grin. "_I_ think you sounded great," he teased. To his infinite relief, Quinn rolled her eyes and smiled back. Puck took that as his "safe" sign and pulled her in for a hug.

She buried her face in his chest, making his shirt a little soggy. He rubbed her back soothingly and stroked her hair carefully, in case she decided to bitch him out for snagging it.

Everyone else in the room looked supremely relieved. Even Finn, who averted his eyes as soon as Puck caught him staring.

Mr. Shue and Rachel smiled at him though, and Puck thought that he felt his cheeks tingle. WTF? Was he blushing? That was so _not_ badass!

TBC...


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

_A/N: This chapter may seem a little OOC, but it's really just to set up where the characters are at emotionally. Some action in Chapter 6 though, I swear._

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Rachel was sorry to admit that she found herself feeling even more guilt at the state of the Glee club. Their plan with the song wasn't a disaster per say, but it didn't do much to help either.

Quinn walked the halls like a zombie, a pale impression of the girl she used to be. She looked for all the world like she would welcome the floor opening up and swallowing her whole.

Finn was still sulky, and he still hadn't made a move on Rachel yet. She was actually getting quite annoyed with him, because it seemed like he wanted her sympathy but not really her. She'd been so sure that he would run right into her arms after learning the truth, and it was mildly alarming that it hadn't worked out that way.

Finn couldn't even look at Quinn yet. The one time Rachel saw him do so his lip quivered and he left the room abruptly. He tried to put up a good front for the group, but no one bought it. His smiles didn't sparkle, his laugh hadn't been heard in weeks, and the only true emotion that passed his face was when he looked at Quinn and Noah.

It devastating to Rachel to realize that while, yes, Finn really liked her, he **loved** Quinn. His heart was broken and Finn didn't **want** to move on--he wanted everything back. Rachel feared that a piece of him would always resent her for telling the truth--no matter what he said.

And she couldn't even argue it, because even though she knew that Finn had a right to know, she realized that it hadn't been **her** secret to tell. She wished she'd handled it differently--gone to Quinn first. Asked Noah first.

Now Finn was a shell of himself, Quinn was a ghost, and Noah...he was so angry. He'd always been a bit tempermental, but his mood swings were out of control. Rachel had heard him arguing with Mr. Shue about his "well being" (as the teacher had called it).

"Of course I'm angry!" he'd snapped, kicking a chair roughly. "I'm not allowed near my kid--I can't even ask her about it without her clamming up! I don't even know what she's going to do with her now."

"Puck you need to calm down," Mr. Shuester had told him seriously. "This stress isn't good for you, and it's really not good for Quinn and the baby."

Puck had nodded and swallowed thickly and Rachel's hands had tightened around the doorframe that she watched from, her heart aching for him.

"I just--" Noah had shaken his head, looking more vulnerable than Rachel, or probably almost anyone, had ever seen. "Quinn won't let me near her, and she's going to give her away...I can't let my daughter go through life not knowing how much I loved her, how bad I want to keep her. What am I supposed to do?"

Rachel had left then, when Noah had buried his face into his hands and Mr. Shuester had taken a step towards him.

She cried in the bathroom for an hour, and missed her history class.

TBC...


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Puck was restless, that much was obvious. He'd thought that things would calm down by now. He'd been so naive. So stupid.

Finn wasn't speaking to him, and Quinn was making it really hard for him to be a man and step up.

And Rachel Berry kept making sad Bambi eyes at him. He suspected that she'd been talking to Ms. Pillsbury about her technique, because she sure was getting better at it.

Puck left his English class feeling moody--big surprise. He'd been staring at Quinn hopefully, not wanting to push her, but silently trying to get her to talk to him. The force was not strong in him though, and she stared pointedly down at her copy of MacBeth, totally ignoring him.

She's asked him not to pressure her, to respect her decision, but it was hard. Because Puck understood her not wanting to be with him--he didn't particularly want **her** anyway--but that was **his** kid. He wanted _her_, and he wanted to be there for both of them. At least when Finn was in the picture Puck knew that she was being taken care of.

Quinn walked out next, but she practically flattened herself against a wall to avoid him. 'Nice,' he rolled his eyes. As he watched her round the corner, getting away from him as fast as possible, he felt himself grow angrier.

His hand shook and he wanted to punch something...maybe someone? Puck marched off in the general direction of his locker, praying that he wouldn't run into Finn today. The last thing he needed is to make that situation worse.

"Damn," he muttered, rounding the corner to find, not Finn, but Rachel Berry. That was almost worse. Almost.

Puck wasn't exactly angry with **Rachel**, just with life in general. He knew that she'd blown the world up around them, but then he'd been wanting to do it anyway. Her motives had been as selfish as his in the end, and it was hard to hold it against her. They were both stupid.

But she **was** a good singing partner--very encouraging actually. To him at least...

Her eyes flicked up to meet his when he passed, and she smiled tentatively. "Hello No--" she was but off abruptly by the ice cold cherry slushie that covered her face. Puck stared at her for a stunned second, vaguely aware of the few drops of syrup that had landed on his cheek.

Then he spun around, looking for the culprit. Mike Karofsky was watching, laughing, an empty slushie cup in his gorilla sized hand. 'That's what I'm talking about,' he thought. 'This prick deserves it!'

Everything happened very fast then. Puck dove at Karofsky, relishing in the sickening crack that sounded when his fist collided with jawbone. Karofsky swore and swung back. Rachel Berry screamed and Puck was vaguely aware of getting hit in the cheekbone.

Puck got about six good punches in before he was pulled off. "Enough!"

"Let go of me!" Puck yelled, pushing the hands off of his shoulders. "He deserved it!" Finn snorted but release him anyway. Then, with one quick glance at Rachel, he walked away without another word. Rachel looked up at Puck, her wide eyes gazing at him through the red, slushie stained skin.

"Noah?" she asked tentatively, this time much more nervous than she'd been two minutes before.

"Yeah?" he asked absentmindedly, glaring down at Karofsky who was crumpled in a bloody ball on the floor. Stupid pussy had barely even tried to fight back!

"Are you okay?" she asked, wiping the sticky syrup from her eyes.

"Yeah." Karofsky looked up at him pathetically. Puck kicked him in the ass once. "Stop throwing slushies, man," he finally said. "It's...it's not cool anymore."

Karofsky spat out a mouthful of blood but then nodded, so Puck gave him a hand up. The gorilla lumbered off and Puck heard Rachel sigh in relief. For a short minute he'd forgotten that she was there.

He turned to her awkwardly. She was covered in red slushie, from the top of her shiny head to her knees. The sweater that she was wearing used to be a bright, sky blue; it wasn't anymore.

Rachel looked nervous but then her gaze fell to his hand and her face softened. She grabbed a garment bag out of her locker and then closed it.

"Come on," she told him gently and took his hand carefully in hers. He winced, realizing for the first time that his knuckles were split open and as red as her slushie. "Let's get cleaned up."

He hesitated. The anger he'd felt just minutes ago was gone and he was exhausted now.

But she was sweet, and kind, and looked up at him with a mixture of compassion and awe, and he realized that it was the first time in a long time that anyone had looked at him like that.

So he let her lead him away.

TBC...


End file.
